Straw spreader attachment



Aug. 9,` 1938. L. LUELLEN 2,126,121

STRAW SPREADER ATTACHMENT l Filed June 15, 193e 7 y l N@ v5 Patented Aug. 9, 193g Y f' Y 'i ZIZZ UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE STRAW SPREADEP, ATTACHMENT Lloyd Luellen, Huntington, Ind., assigner to Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Illinos I Application `lune 15, 1936, Serial No. 85,267

8 Claims; (Cl. 275-8) The present invention relates generally to straw posed within the arm 8, as is explained in the spreading attachments for agricultural imple- 'above-mentioned patent. The denecting shield i ments and more particularly to a readily detachis also supported on the arm 8 by suitable brackable straw spreader for a harvester thresher. ets It. The spreader arm which preferably When operating in territories where there are extends longitudinally rearwardly of the imple- 5 numerous small fields of grain, it is highly dement frame 2, is supported at its forward end on sirable that the harvester thresher be provided a housing II into which it is welded or otherwise with a straw spreader attachment which can be suitably connected. The housing II is disposed easily connected to the implement for spreading intermediately of a hollow shaft I2, which eX- lostraw in certain fields but which can be readily tends transversely of the frame 2, and is sup- 10 removed for operation in other elds in which ported at each end by a bracket i3 which is conit is desired to windrow the straw. nected to the implement frame 2, such as by bolts The principal object of this invention is to` I 4. Each of the brackets I3 is substantially verprovide a straw spreading device that is easily tically disposed and has a horizontal flange I5 l5 and quickly attachable and detachable. Other at its rupper end to which the bolts I4 are at- 15 objects will be made apparent to those skilled in tached.

the art by a consideration of the following de- The web portion of the bracket I3 is provided scription in which reference is made to the drawwith an open-ended slot IS which extends at an ing which is appended hereto. v upward angle forwardly from the rear edge of In the drawingthe bracket. The width of the slot is made 20 Figure l is a fragmentary elevation of an agrislightly larger than the outside diameter of the cultural implement, such as a harvester thresher, hollow shaft I2 so that the shaft I2 may be easily showing a straw spreading device embodyingfthe inserted into the slot. principles of my invention; Rigidly fixed upon the shaft I2 are a pair of Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional plan View locking bars Il, as for instance by welding, shown 25 showing certain details of the supporting and in the drawing. One of these locking bars is attaching means as viewed along the line 2-2 disposed in cooperation with each of the bracketsl of l Figure 1; I3, respectively, and is adapted to engage a flange Figure 3 is an elevation showing thedetails of I3 on the rear edge of the bracket I3 when the one ofthe supporting brackets and the manner spreader-carrying arm 8 is in operating position 30 in which the device cooperates therewith; and, and as heretofore explained, is substantially hori- Figure 4 is an end elevation of the supporting zontal. They Weight of the spreader 3 thus sets bracket and cooperative parts shown in Figure 3. up a moment which is resisted by the locking Referring to the several drawings, reference bar` Il bearing against the flange I 8, which not numeral I indicates in its entirety anagricultural only acts to hold the arm 8 horizontal, but tends 35 implement, as for example a harvester thresher. to force the shaft I2 deeper into the slot The 2 indicates the structural frame of the impleupward slant of theslot aidsinholding the shaft ment. The straw spreading attachment, indit2 in the slot when the spreader is in this posicated by 3, is supported usually at the rear end tion. y of the implement in a manner to be described In order to disengage the locking bars I 'l from 40 later,and consists generally of a rotatable plate the flange I8 the shaft I2 must be rotated 4 mounted on a vertically disposed spindle 5 hav- Counterclockwise, aS Seen irl Figures 1 and 3, by ing a plurality of radially extending, vertically raising arm 8 to a substantial angle above the vdisposed blades s, A deecting Shie1d 1 is dishorizontal position, as shown by dotted lines in posed'adjacent to the rotatable spreader and Fglll'e3 SDCS the Hang@ I8 terminates at its 45 operates cooperatively therewith. For a more OWBI end I9 apprecafbly SJOOVE the SlOt i6. it is complete description of this type of spreading clearly evident that when the spreader is in this device, reference is hereby specifically made to position the Shaft may be Sld Out 0f the slot I6 United States Patent 2,010,287,` issued August 6, and the locking bars l 7 Will easily DaSS under the 1935 to R. L. Anderson. lower end I9 of the flange I8. Conversely, the 50 The spreader 3 is mounted at the end of a spreader may be attached by` holding it at such tubular arm 8, which is preferably horizontal, or an angle above the horizontal and inserting the substantially so, during operation. The spindle 5 shaft I2 Within the slots I6 by passing the locking is operatively connected by suitable gearing withbar under the end of the flange i8, after which in a gear box 9 to a shaft (not shown) disthe spreader can be rotated around the longitudi- 55 nal axis of the shaft I2 to the horizontal position as shown in Figure 1.

The spreader may be raised to an intermediate position so that it will not strike obstructions on the ground during transport, and held in that position by a dog 20 which is pivoted to the bracket I3 by means of a bolt 2I. The dog has a notch 22 which engages the corner of the arm I1 when the spreader is raised to transport position. In transport position, as well as in operating position, the Weight of the spreader reacts against the dog 20 to hold the shaft I2 up in the notch IE.

The spreader is. actuated from a power shaft 23 supported in a bracket 24 on the frame 2. The power shaft 23 is connected with a driving shaft 25 disposed within the transverse hollow shaft I 2 by means of a chain 26, which operatively connects a sprocket 21 on the power shaft 23 with a sprocket 28 which is secured to the shaft 25 by means of a cotter pin 29, inserted through aligned holes in the hub 30 of the sprocket 28 and the driving shaft 25. InV order to make the chain readily detachable, so that the spreader may be removed, a suitable disconnecting link 3| is profvided in the chain, which is closed by a pin 32 secured by a cotter pin 33 as shown in Figure 4. The drive shaft 25 is connected to the longitudinal operating shaft within the arm 8 by means of suitable gearing disposed within the housing Il, as is clearly shown in the aforementioned patent. Hence, the power shaft 23 operating through the chain and sprocket drive rotates the drive Vshaft 25, which operates through the gearing within the housing I I to drive the operating shaft Within the hollow arm 8. This rotation is transmitted to the rotor spindle 5 through gearing in the box 8 causing the spreader 3 to revolve about its vertical axis at a high rate of speed. Straw discharged from the thresher I, falling upon the plate 4 of the spreader, is caused to be thrown radially by the vanes 6 of the spreader by reason of the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the spreader. The deflecting shield 'I prevents straw from being thrown back into the implement or into the operating mechanism of the spreader. However, with the spreader removed, the straw is merely discharged in a windrow behind the forwardly moving implement.

I claim:

l. A straw spreading device for an agricultural implement having a frame, said device comprising in combination, a shaft, a rotatable spreader. supported on said shaft but offset laterally therefrom, a locking bar fixed on said shaft, a bracket fixed to said implement frame, said bracket hav-V ing an open-ended slot for receiving said shaft, and means for engaging said locking bar to resist the gravitational moment set up by said offset spreader, said moment tending to--hold said shaft in said slot.

2,. A straw spreading device for an agricultural implement having a frame, said device comprising in combination, a spreader rotatably mounted on an arm, said arm being supported on a hollow shaft disposed substantially at right angles to said arm, a locking bar fixed on said shaft, and a bracket member fixed to said implement frame, said bracket having an open slot for receiving said hollow shaft and a projecting portion for engaging said locking bar to hold said spreader arm substantially horizontal during operation.

3. A detachable straw spreader for an agricultural implement having a frame, said spreader comprising inv combination, a shaft disposed transversely of said implement frame and supported in open-ended slots in said frame, a rotatable spreading member supported on said shaft and offset rearwardly therefrom, a locking member fixed on said shaft and adapted to engage a stop on said frame for resisting the gravitational moment set up by said offset member, said moment acting to hold said shaft in said slot.

4. A straw spreading device for an agricultural implement having a frame, said device comprising in combination, a spreader rotatably mounted on an arm, said arm being supported on a hollow shaft disposed substantially at right angles to said arm, Va locking bar fixed on said shaft, and a bracket member fixed to said implement frame, said bracket having a slotted recess for receiving said shaft and Ymeans for engaging said locking bar when said arm is substantially horizontal, said shaft being removable from said bracket When said arm is pivoted around the longitudinal axis of said shaft to` an appreciable angle above the horizontal.

5. A readily detachable straw spreading device for an agricultural implement having a frame, saiddevice comp-rising in combination, a spreader rotatably mounted on an arm, said arm being supported on a hollow shaft disposed substantially at right angles to said arm, a locking bar fixed on said shaft, a pair of laterally spaced bracket members xed to said implement frame, said bracket members having slotted recesses for receiving said shaft and means for engaging. said locking bar when said arm is substantially horizontal, said shaft being removable from said bracket members when said arm is pivoted around the longitudinal axis of said shaft to an appreciable angle above the horizontal, a driving shaft disposed within said hollow shaft, a power shaft supported by said frame, and removable means for operatively connecting said power shaft to said driving shaft.

6. A readily detachable straw spreading device for an agricultural implement having a frame,

Ysaid device comprising in combination, a hollow shaft disposed transversely of said frame, an arm having one end fixed to said shaft and extending rearwardly therefrom and substantially at right angles thereto, a rotatable spreader mounted at the other end of said arm, a pair of brackets attached to said frame for supporting said shaft, each of said brackets having an open-ended slot for receiving said shaft, a pair of locking bars fixed to said shaft, each bar being adapted to engage a portion of one of said brackets, respectively, when said arm is in horizontal operating position, for holding said arm in said operating position and for holding said shaft in said slots, said locking bars being disengaged to permit said shaft to be removed from said slots when said arm is pivoted around the longitudinal axis of said shaft to an appreciable angle above the horizontal position, a driving shaft disposed within said hollow shaft, a power shaft Vsupported on said frame parallel to said driving shaft, a sprocket on each of said shafts, and a driving chain connecting said sprockets, said chain having a removable link to; facilitate disconnection of said chain when said spreader is removed from the implement.

'7. A detachable straw spreading device for an agricultural implement, said device comprising in combination, a T-shaped supporting member, a

Yspreader rotatably mounted adjacent the end of said member, a pair of laterally lspaced anged plates fixed on said implement, each of said plates having an open-ended slot for receiving one of the 7 5` arms of said supporting member, respectively, and a stop xed to one arm of said supporting member and adapted to engage the ange of one of said plates to limit downward swinging movement of said supporting member.

8. A straw spreading attachment for a harvester thresher, comprising in combination, a pair of laterally spaced, supporting plates fixed to the frame of said combine and disposed in 10 longitudinally extending planes, said plates having transversely aligned open-ended recesses, a transversely extending shaft adapted for insertion into said recesses, a rearwardly extending supporting arm xed to said shaft, a spreader rotatably mounted on said supporting arm, a stop on said transverse shaft, and means on one of said supporting plates for engaging said stop to prevent downward swinging of said supporting arm beyond a substantially horizontal position.

LLOYD LUELLEN. 

